Yearning Absolution (Yearning Series) (9 page)

As much as Gwen had tried, she was
unable to convince Cole to cancel the doctor check up. It seemed like they had
just entered the living room when the bell rang announcing an arrival. Cole
moved to get the door while Gwen cuddled with McKayla on the couch.

Cole returned with a handsome older
gentleman, who Gwen would guess was in his late 50s. “This is Doctor Pau.
Doctor, this is Gwen.”

“Nice to meet you. Let’s get right
to the reason I am here. I know you are quite comfortable out here, but I would
really prefer to speak one on one with you, Gwen, for our first visit.” Dr. Pau
spoke with a surprisingly soft and comforting voice.

“Of course.” Gwen stood, squeezed McKayla’s
hand then led the way down the hall to Cole’s bedroom. It was the closest
bedroom and the one she was spending most of her time in since getting sick.
She gestured at the table that was in the corner, taking one seat while the
doctor took the other seat at the small wooden table. “Now we have complete
privacy, not that both of them don’t know everything about me anyway.”

“It is just easier this way. Thank
you for being so understanding.” Dr. Pau spoke as he set down a small bag
filled with the tools of his trade. He pulled a small pad of paper from the bag
and a pen before turning towards her. He asked her all the general health
questions and about how long she’d been sick along with what her symptoms where
while taking notes. After taking a moment to read through his notes, he looked
up at her and set the pen down. “Well, there are two options I think that would
most fit your symptoms. One being pregnancy…”

“No.” Gwen cut him off quickly.
“I’m not pregnant. I know that for a fact. I had my tubes tied years ago. I had
it tested multiple times to make sure the operation was a complete success.”

“Well, then I would have to say,
you have an extremely bad flu.” Dr. Pau made more notes on his pad. “All we
really can do it make sure you have a lot of fluids and it should pass in the
next week or so. If it hasn’t, I would like for you to call me and make a
follow up appointment where I can run some blood test to get a better idea of
what else this could be.”

“Ok. I’m sure I’ll be fine in a few
weeks. I’m feeling much better today anyway. Cole was just being overly worried.”
Gwen tried and failed to not roll her eyes at the over bearing man in her life.
“But if by some chance I’m not better in a few weeks, I’ll be sure to call you
again.”

“Now be sure to get a lot of rest
and really keep the fluids up. It’ll help more than you think to help push the
virus from your body.” Dr. Pau stood. He placed his pad and pen back into his
bag before shaking her hand. “I look forward to hearing from you in a few
weeks. Please, be in touch whether or not you are feeling better so I can make
note of it.”

“Will do. Thank you, Doctor.” Gwen
followed him down the hall back to the main room. She returned to the couch
with McKayla, who opened her arms in greeting so Gwen could cuddle back up to
her.

“So, what did he say?” McKayla
questioned as soon as Cole had returned from showing the doctor out.

“Just the flu. Rest, hydrate and
wait it out.” Gwen got out before a yawn slipped from her mouth. “See you two
worry for nothing. I’m just sleeping to give my body energy to battle the
germies.”

“Ok. Then let’s get you back to bed
then.” Cole walked over and held his hand down for her.

“I’d like go to McKayla’s room this
time.” Gwen smiled softly at him. “That way you have some time to get a good
night rest in too.”

“Ok.” Cole scooped her up under her
knees and back and carried her past his bedroom to McKayla’s room. He gently
laid her on the bed. “I’ll miss you, but I know McKayla needs you close too and
with you sick we aren’t all sharing a bed, no matter how big. You need to sleep
as comfortable as possible.”

Gwen reached up and brushed her
fingers over his cheek and into his hair. “You are almost too understanding.”

“I’m just happy to have you when I
can get you.” Cole tracked his thumb over her cheek softly. “Now rest and I’ll
come by later to check on you.”

“Ok. Love you.” Gwen made kissing
noises until Cole laughed and bent to give her a soft kiss.

“Love you too.” With that Cole left
the room, leaving the door just slightly opened. He found McKayla in the
kitchen filling a glass with ice water.

“She tucked in?” She asked over her
shoulder when she heard him enter the room.

“Yep, all ready to snooze away the
day.” Cole rolled his head from one side to the other trying to alleviate the
headache he was getting from stress. “At least it’s just a cold. The doctor
told me she should be feeling much better in a few more days.”

“Great. I feel so bad with her
being so sick and not feeling well. Plus, I’m not used to being home so much.
I’m going a bit stir crazy barely going out except to work the last two weeks.”
McKayla picked up the glass and turned to leave the room.

“I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if you
went out. I’ll be around for most of the next week. I’ve made it so I can work
from the house except a few meetings that I can’t get out of.” Cole leaned back
against the counter, shoving his hands in the pockets of the dress pants he had
on.

“Yeah okay.” McKayla shrugged and
went to her room. Gwen was sleeping deeply facing the door. Setting the glass
of water on a coaster, she kneeled next to Gwen. She kissed her forehead and said,
“I miss the old days. Back when you relied on me for everything.”

When Gwen opened her eyes hours
later, she was alone in McKayla’s room. She slowly sat up and looked around the
room. Gwen had figured that McKayla would come and lay with her, but she was
not there in the bed. Frowning, she climbed from the bed and treaded down the
hall to the living room. It too was empty. There were noises coming from the
kitchen, so she made her way over to the doorway to the kitchen. But it was
only Alina, making what Gwen assumed was dinner. She didn’t notice Gwen so she
slipped out without a word.

“What are you up to sneaking
around?” Cole’s voice had her turning towards his bedroom door. He stood with
his arm bent, resting on the door frame. His dress shirt was unbuttoned at the
top and rolled up on his forearms. He must have been working. Gwen smiled at
him and made her way through the living room to the door that led to Cole’s
suite of rooms.

“I was looking for everyone.” Gwen
spoke as Cole enveloped her in his arms, her head resting on his chest and his
hand in her hair. He kissed the top of her head.

“McKayla went out for a while with
some friends. She was going stir crazy sitting around here all day. She hasn’t
had any work in a week. I was just working out of my room since it’s quieter
that way.” He stepped back and looked down at her. “How are you feeling?”

“Ok. I have a bit of headache and
my back hurts, but that’s probably just from lying in bed so much. I’m feeling
a bit hungry though.” Gwen smiled. She really was starting to feel a bit better
and for the first time in weeks she was getting a bit of an appetite.

“Well, let’s go see how long until
dinner is ready.” Cole scooped her up again, causing a squeal to come from
Gwen.

“Seriously, I can walk. I just
walked all over this side of your monstrous apartment perfectly fine by
myself.” Gwen laughed but clasped her arms tightly around his neck.

“I know. But I’m enjoying getting
to show off my brute strength when I can.” Cole wiggled his eyebrows at her. Gwen
just laughed and shook her head.

“You are so crazy. Men aren’t
really supposed to carry women around. And I know perfectly well just how
strong you are.” Gwen laughed grasping the back of his head and pulling his
head down to kiss his cheek.

Cole set her down on one of the
unused counters in the kitchen and turned to Alina. Gwen scooted back and
folded her legs in front of her. “How much longer until dinner is ready?”

“Any minute now, sir.” Alina spoke
just as a timer started to go off. “Perfect timing. How are you feeling, Ms.
Gwen?”

“Better. Slowly getting there.”
Gwen smiled at the sweet woman.

“That’s good to hear. Now chop
chop, get in the dining room and I’ll bring it in to you.”

Gwen slowly slid off the counter.
Cole held her hand as they moved to the dining room, sitting next to each other
at the massive table. Gwen had never bothered to actually count them, but it
was bigger than most dining room tables. She looked over at Cole after he
tucked her chair in for her then sat next to her. She smiled weakly. “I don’t
know how well this is going to go. I’m already feeling drained.”

“Let’s get you back to bed then.”
Cole started to stand but Gwen grabbed his hand and shook her head.

“No. I want to try. I think it
might help me feel better. I’m so tired of those smoothie things, I would much
rather eat normal food.” Gwen shuddered thinking about the high nutrition
drinks that she’d been drinking since she couldn’t keep much of anything down.
Cole sat back down and put a hand on Gwen’s thigh as Alina brought in two
steaming plates of food. She set the plates down in front of Cole and Gwen
before retreating for their drinks and silverware. Alina returned with them and
was gone again.

Gwen looked at the plate of steamed
broccoli and baked chicken. At least her stomach didn’t immediately roll. She
could do this. Gwen smiled as she gave herself a pep talk. Cutting the chicken into
tiny bites, she finally took a bite. It was juicy and flavorful. She carefully
ate little bites until she’d finished half the meal.

She sat watching Cole eat, but her
stomach rolled at the thought of putting anything else in it. She pushed back
from the table. “I’m gonna go lay down on the couch. I want to wait until
McKayla gets home before going back to bed.”

“Are you okay?” Cole stood when she
did.

“Yeah, just want to lay down.” Gwen
smiled weakly, kissed his lips softly then left the room. She laid on the couch
on her side with her eyes closed. Her stomach rumbled and rolled. Gwen started
thinking maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to eat. She turned to face the back
of the couch, hoping the new position might make her stomach feel better.

Cole came in the room and sat on
the couch at her feet. He lifted them into his lap and without a word, started
rubbing them. Gwen rolled onto her back, putting an arm under her head and one
across her unhappy stomach. Cole looked back at her with a tender smile on his
lips. “You know I can’t wait until you are feeling better because I still have
plans that we never got to finish on our date night.”

“I just bet you do.” Gwen laughed
softly. But she felt her stomach roll as she laughed. She jumped up from the
couch and ran to the kitchen where she proceeded to empty her stomach in the
sink, right in front of Alina.

"Here, Ms. Gwen." Alina
handed her a wet wash cloth. Gwen wiped off her face, now red with
embarrassment. "Go lay down Ms. I will bring you some special tea we use
in Russian to help settle ones stomach. I didn't realize you were still quite
so ill or I would have made you a very nice soup for dinner."

"Thank you, Alina." Gwen
slowly made her way to Cole, who was standing in the doorway to the kitchen.
"Sorry. This is getting so old. I don't normally get sick... Not to this
extent anyway."

"It's ok. I like being able to
be home and help take care of you. But I do want you to feel better too."
Cole pulled her into his arms. He ran his hands through her hair. "Well,
let’s get you down again before you get sick again."

"I wish I could laugh at that,
but it really is a good idea." Gwen frowned. When Alina entered the living
room, Gwen was laying on the couch with her head resting on Cole’s muscular
thigh. "Thank you, Alina." Gwen sat up to take the cup of tea from
Alina. She took a small sip. The warm fluid instantly soothed her throat and
stomach. "Mmm, it is very good. Already I can feel my stomach settling.
What's in it?"

"Ginger. I will make some
extra so you can have it during the night if you should like." Alina
quietly crept from the room, leaving Cole and Gwen alone.

After a more sips of the tea, Gwen
laid her head back on Cole's thigh. He had his phone in his hand tapping out
something with his thumbs but once he was done, he gently ran a hand through
her hair over and over, lulling Gwen to sleep.

When Gwen awoke it was completely
dark in the living room and she was all alone. She sat up a bit disoriented.
She walked through the darkened house, only the moonlight coming through the
many windows leaving just enough light for her to navigate her way through the
halls. She walked to Cole’s room since it was closest. She could see light
filtering from under the door so he had to be in there. Then, she padded her
way down the hall to McKayla’s room. To her surprise, McKayla was lying in bed
fast asleep.

Gwen would’ve expected McKayla to wake
her when she got home, since that is why she had been laying on the couch
instead of in bed. Gwen made her way back to Cole’s room. She lightly knocked
on the door and after a moment, Cole opened the door. He was wearing only a pair
of black silk pajama pants that hung low on his hips.

“Hi.” Gwen’s lips tugged up on one
side. “I was hoping you were still awake. McKayla is already asleep. Did she
say anything to you when she came home?”

“We talked a bit. I had to take a
phone call so I came in here and figured she would’ve woken you up so you could
go to her room with her. I told her you were sleeping on the couch waiting for
her.” Cole’s eyebrows pulled together.

“I think she is mad at me. But she
is refusing to really talk about it and mostly avoiding me ever since she got
back from her trip. Being sick really isn’t helping but I am trying to spend as
much time as I can with her.” Gwen shrugged as Cole opened the door wider so
that she could enter his room. “But we seem to miss each other or one of us is
sleeping when the other is around.”

“Well, I won’t miss the chance to
have you in my bed.” He smiled warmly at her. Cole turned down the lights as he
moved towards the bed. Pulling back the covers on one side and motioning with
his arm for Gwen to get in. She climbed up into the massive bed and he pulled
the covers back over her. “I have some work that I have to finish, but I should
be only a few more minutes.”

“Take your time. I just didn’t want
to sleep on the couch or accidently wake up McKayla and have a fight in the
middle of the night.” Gwen snuggled deeper into the covers. She knew she needed
to catch McKayla and have a long conversation with her about the way things
were going. It was obvious McKayla was upset over something ever since she came
back from her trip, but Gwen wasn’t exactly sure what it was.

When Gwen woke in the morning, Cole
was in the shower already. She didn’t even remember him coming to bed last
night. As frustrating as it was to be as tired as she was all the time, it was
even more frustrating to feel like hours and days were just slipping by.

She walked to the kitchen. Alina
was in the kitchen, as usual. Gwen smiled at her. She was sure she looked
horrible. She hadn’t brushed her hair or teeth yet. Not to mention that she
hadn’t showered in at least 3 days. She just didn’t have the energy to do it.

“Would you like a cup of tea?”
Alina asked when she noticed Gwen standing in the doorway, running her hands
through her disheveled hair.

“That would be great. I slept so
great last night. First night in weeks where I didn’t wake up at least once
sick.” Gwen covered her mouth with the back of her hand as she yawned. She ran
her hands through her hair once more as Alina brought her a mug of tea. “Thank
you so much. Maybe after a day of drinking this I’ll feel halfway human again.”

“I will make sure to have plenty
ready for you.” Alina nodded her head gently before turning back to the
vegetables she was cutting on the counter.

Gwen walked back to Cole’s room. He
was standing in the room with just a towel around his hips. He looked over at
the sound of the door opening and closing. Seeing it was Gwen, he smiled.

“Good morning. How did you sleep?”
Cole asked as he pulled a pair of boxers out of the dresser he was standing in
front of.

“The best I have in a while. This
must be magic tea.” Gwen held up the mug she was holding with both hands
wrapped around it.

“I guess so. I’m glad it seems to
be helping. Guess we should have asked Alina sooner if she had anything up her
sleeve that might help.” He spoke to her as he slipped his boxers over his legs
and up under the towel. Then he pulled the towel off and scrubbed at his hair
with it.

Gwen stood there and took in the
all the sculpted muscles of Cole’s chest as he moved. They tensed and relaxed
as he was moving. She tilted her head and raised an eyebrow as a smiled tugged
at her lips.

“What are you smiling at?” Cole
threw the towel in the basket just inside the closet. He stood watching her,
his hands on his hips. His feet spread just slightly.

“You. I swear you have to be the
finest piece of man meat I’ve ever seen.” Gwen let her eyes once again roam all
over his body before meeting his eyes again.

“I can tell you are feeling much
better. You’re getting that gleam in your eye that says you need to be ridden
hard.” Cole shook his head at her slightly. “Too bad I don’t have time this
morning. I have a meeting that I absolutely must go in for.”

“I don’t think I’m ready for all
that you have to give, but it sure is nice to stand and appreciate it.” Gwen
took a sip of her tea. “Plus, I am going to go see if McKayla is up yet.”

“Ah, yes. Well, I do hope
everything goes well with that conversation.” Cole moved into the closet and
came out with a suit on a hanger.

“I’m sure things will be fine. You
get ready and don’t be late. I’ll call you later.” Gwen walked over to get a
kiss before searching out McKayla. She found her still in her room, sitting on
her bed playing with her phone. Gwen knocked softly on the side of the door
frame as she peered in. “Can I come in?”

“Sure. I’m kind of surprised you
remembered how to get here.” McKayla spoke without even turning to look at
Gwen.

“I think we need to talk.” Gwen sat
in a chair that was in the corner and folded her legs in front of her with her
mug resting on her crossed ankles.

“I suppose if you want.” McKayla
rolled her eyes and set her phone down in her lap. She finally looked up to
meet Gwen’s eyes. “What is it that you want to talk about?”

“This. This is exactly what I want
to talk to you about. Why are you throwing so much attitude at me?” Gwen put
her hand to her chest. “You act like I can’t find my way to your room but I was
sleeping in her just yesterday. I thought you would have lain down with me.
Instead, I wake up to you being gone. I lay on the couch, once again waiting
for you to come home. But then when I wake up alone in the living room, you had
come home and went to bed without waking me.”

“Oh, so I have to wake you up if I
want to spend time with you? You can’t even convince yourself to stay awake to
spend time with me? I’m pretty sure you can keep yourself awake for all the
talks you seem to be having with Cole. Hell, even Alina seems to get more
conversations with you than I do.” McKayla let her annoyance with Gwen fill her
voice. “I hate living here. I feel like I am just here in your life. Doing
whatever it is you want me to do even though you don’t make any time to spend
with me.”

“I didn’t make you move here. You
agreed when we moved that it was the right thing to do. The safer thing to do.”
Gwen was surprised at the way McKayla was talking to her. She felt like McKayla
was wanted pick a fight.

“Yeah, well, what happened to that
threat? So far only you have supposedly seen this guy and only that one time. He
only called you supposedly that one time. Right now I feel like you made it all
up just so that we could move in here with Cole and you could put me in the
corner of the apartment away from you and Cole’s life together. Like you only
wanted me to come with so you wouldn’t have to break up with me when that is
really what you wanted to do.” McKayla stood from the bed. She grabbed her
purse from the nightstand and slipped on flipflops. “You know if that’s what
you wanted, that’s all you had to say because right now this sucks for me.”

“What are you saying?” Gwen tried
to keep up with what McKayla was saying. “I didn’t lie about any of that stuff!
I don’t know where the hell he is. I don’t know when he is going to pop up
again. It scares me all the time.”

“It scares you? Really? You haven’t
been acting scared? You’ve been going to parties without me, making me go on
trips alone so that you and Cole can go to fancy hotels and fuck all night.
Then since I came back from my trip, you have barely even acknowledged that I’m
here. I don’t know why I continue to bother.” McKayla walked to the door. “I’m
leaving.”

“What? What do you mean you are
leaving?” Gwen stood up rapidly from the chair.

“I’ll be back… whenever.” McKayla
called out as she walked out of the room, never glancing back at Gwen.

Gwen held a hand up to her head
that was spinning. Her vision closed in until she could barely see anything.
She quickly sat back down into the chair again and closed her eyes. Her heart
was pounding as she breathed rapidly. “What the hell?” Gwen spoke softly to
herself. Finally her vision returned and she slowly stood again. This time
nothing happened so she carefully made her way down the hall.

Cole’s door was wide open, which
was generally a sign he had left for work. Gwen moved towards the kitchen. The
living room was empty and the kitchen was empty too. She thought about going to
the other side of the house but she doubted Cole or McKayla would be over there
as it was only the spare room, spare bath and Alina’s living quarters.

Gwen sank down on the couch in the
living room. She wasn’t entirely sure what had just happened. Had McKayla
broken up with her? Had she really been that absent minded in spending time
with McKayla? Gwen didn’t think so. She had been sick the last couple weeks and
before that she had really tried to make sure she spent time with McKayla. The
relationship with Cole was new and exciting and Gwen wanted to get to know
everything about him while the relationship with McKayla was steady and true.
They still have a great time together but they mostly knew everything about
each other after being together for over 10 years. It was more comfortable, but
she didn’t take it for granted.

Gwen would do anything to make sure
McKayla didn’t leave her life. But what if McKayla was past caring what Gwen
wanted?

With that thought, Gwen put her
face in her hands and started bawling.